Speed skater Shruti Kotwal wants to make Khelo India Winter Games memorable

My ultimate goal is to qualify for the Olympics and I am very excited to be back on
national soil, said the India’s first professional ice speed skater
The Khelo India Winter Games 2024 in Ladakh is getting a taste of India’s top skaters
some of whom train and compete overseas. Pune girl Shruti Kotwal, who is the country’s
first professional ice speed skater, is all set to dazzle here at the Gupuks Pond in Leh.
It will be a sweet home coming for the 32-year Shruti, who is India’s fastest ice speed
skater. In November 2022, Shruti broke the national record, clocking 42.21 seconds in a
500 metre race just two weeks before the AmCup 2022 (the American championship for
skaters who achieve a high qualifying standard).
Shruti participated in the 2008 Winter Games in Gulmarg, Jammu & Kashmir, and in the
past decade has represented India at several international tournaments. The Khelo India
Winter Games 2024 will be her first national event after 15 years.
“Kudos to the government for conducting a national-level event specially dedicated to
winter sports. KIWG has given us athletes an opportunity to showcase our talent on
national soil and I hope watching us will also inspire the next generation to take up speed
skating,” said Shruti, who starts her campaign in Leh on Monday.
Shruti is a long track speed skater. The Pune girl, like most Indian skaters started as a
roller skater when she was 10 years old. She changed to ice skating to pursue her dream
to play in the Olympics.
She holds the national record holder in long track speed skating over 500m, 1000m, and
1500m. Her career-best performances include gold medals in 500m, 1000m and 1500 m
at the 2011 South Asian Winter Games. She is virtually undefeated at the national level
and has five gold medals from various national championships.
In 2012, Shruti Kotwal received a scholarship from International Skating Union (ISU) to
train at Kia Speed Skating academy in Germany which was her first international camp.
Shruti’s dreams have been well supported by her family.
At the Khelo India Winter Games 2024, Shruti will be participating in her pet 500 m race.
With dreams of making the 2026 Winter Olympics, she trains in the US under coach
Mitchell Whitmore, a three-time Olympian. Training with Olympians and top class
international skaters has given Shruti a lot of conviction but there are hurdles to cross.
To qualify for long track speed skating in the Olympics one has to participate in an ISU
affiliated competition in an Olympic size rink. The most important factor in long track
speed skating is timing and to qualify for the Olympics one has to meet certain standards.
Currently, the top long-track speed skaters come from the Netherlands and USA.
Shruti has enough international experience. She represented India in 2017 Asian Games
in Japan, Asian championships in China and Kazakhstan. Her most recent international
outing was the America (Am) Cup last tear.
“I am the first long track speed skater from India who is trying to qualify for the
Olympics. My focus is on training, participating in more races and improving my timings
to give my hundred percent and be ready for the 2026 Olympics,” she said.
Shruti is happy to see quite a lot of changes in the winter sports sector in India, especially
in ice skating. “When we started, there was just one rink in Shimla and now almost all
states have a facility,” she pointed out. Interestingly, several skaters now emerge from the
plains.
“Although India is a tropical country, winter games athletes should train throughout the
year so that when the season arrives they can give their best,” Shruti signed off.
—
Caption: Shruti Kotwal of Maharashtra is India’s first professional ice speed
skater
ABOUT KHELO INDIA WINTER GAMES 2024
The Khelo India Winter Games 2024 is the fourth edition of the annual event in the
Khelo India calendar. The Union Territory of Ladakh is making its debut as hosts this year
alongside the UT of Jammu & Kashmir, which has organised the Games from 2020. Leh
will be the venue for the first part of the Games from February 2-6. The Games are
scheduled to move to Gulmarg between February 21-25. While Ladakh will be
conducting games — ice hockey and speed skating — Jammu and Kashmir will conduct ski
mountaineering, Alpine skiing, snowboarding, Nordic ski and gandola. The Khelo India
Winter Games are part of the Khelo India Mission, a brainchild of Hon’ble Prime
Minister Shri Narendra Modi. It is the PM’s endeavour to give importance to all types of
Olympic sports and produce a feeder channel of talented sportspersons who can shine
for India at the highest levels of sporting excellence.